13-year-old surfer Olivia Bowers posted an open letter to Tracks, a monthly magazine focused on surfing that refers to itself as the “Surfer’s Bible”, criticising their portrayal of women both in the publication and on their website.
In her letter, Bowers expresses disappointment at noted absence of female surfers in the magazine. She also mentions that when they actually do appear, they are almost always represented by bikini models on beaches or posing in rooms, and are not actually representative of the sport of surfing. After saying she and a “posse of female surfers” will spread word and refuse to purchase the magazine, she says further that “It’s a shame that you can’t see the benefits of an inclusive surf culture that in fact, would add a whole lot of numbers to your subscription list.”
Bowers’ letter highlights the current gender gap in terms of the representation and recognition of women in sports, as well as the attitude towards women in the media. While the editor of Tracks, Luke Kennedy, said in a response to Bowers that the magazine did not have a “no girls” stance and had run stories about female surfers in the past, he also stated that women were not the primary audience and that would account for their lack of coverage.
The statement could be seen as a vast generalisation, especially considering that the most famous Australian surfer from the past decade is probably Layne Beachley, but it does seem to reflect the idea of sport being a strictly male activity. Bowers highlighted this further in an interview, where she stated that she is no longer allowed to play interschool football due to her age despite being in the girl’s league. The idea of sport being a strictly male activity has also been highlighted elsewhere, such as the now-infamous Ellyse Perry post on Cricket Meme where a number of male users posted pages of misogynistic phrases and abuse directed at her despite (or perhaps in light of) the meme proclaiming her skill and achievements in the sport.
It is possible that the under-representation may be influenced by responses from male readers such as the Cricket Meme incident, where the “new lad” personality is cultivated and aided by the anonymity of posting on the internet. In addition, the focus on women as object may be a holdover from the influence of the so-called lads mags in an attempt to draw new readers by utilising sex appeal.
Bibliography:
Steger, Jason; “Olive Bowers hits out at surfer sexism” (Sydney Morning Herald Online, http://www.smh.com.au/sport/olive-bowers-hits-out-at-surfer-sexism-20140329-35qei.html)
Andreou, Alex; “Looking gorgeous in sequinned socks – a very Tory answer to the sports gender gap” (The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/21/tory-gender-gap-cheerleading-sports-conservative-agenda)
Oakes-Ashe, Rachel; “Ellyse Perry meme sparks sexist abuse” (Daily Life, http://www.dailylife.com.au/health-and-fitness/dl-sport/ellyse-perry-meme-sparks-sexist-abuse-20140131-31q1t.html)
Ross, K. 2010; “Gendered Media : Women, Men and Identity Politics” (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham. ISBN 9780742554061)
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